FL Press: Deadly Viper Venom Used To Make New Vodka

WKMG-6 (Orlando, Florida) 26 February 03 Deadly Viper Venom Used To Make New Vodka - Herpetologist Say Drink Depends On SnakeA group of Russian herpetologists are releasing a new brand of vodka made with the deadly venom of viper snakes, according to a Local 6 News report.Regular snake vodka usually involves stuffing a dead snake into a bottle of vodka. However, herpetologists at the Novosibirsk Herpetology Centre plan to take the drink a step further, diluting some of the purest venom from wild vipers collected in the wilderness of Siberia-- into pure vodka. They have already been working on the idea for almost 6 years, and will soon receive their patent, according to the report. The group plans to mass produce the vodka and bring in revenue for their center which, like much of the post-Soviet scientific community, has faced a tight funding crisis. Successful sales would allow the centre, which has previously used most all of the 2 kilograms of condensed venom that it produces each year for medicinal purposes, to expand their collection from 800 vipers to a maximum capacity of 8,000, meaning more venom, medicine, and vodka. Centre director Vladimir Dudarev said that the new vodka itself should be looked on as a medicine. "In any case, vodka with venom is a health drink. There isn't much poison in there but it will have a positive affect on the body," says Dudarev. But whether it will taste any better than other health drinks, such as freshly squeezed carrot juice with garlic, all depends on 800 slithering snakes. They claim that the new drink is a perfect medicine with a strong bite.